TOM · The Owner's Manual · New Testament

1 John 3

Chapter 3 in 30 seconds

Look how much the Father loves us: we are His kids. His children do not make a hobby out of sin. Do not be like Cain, who killed his brother. Love is not just talk; it opens its wallet. And when your own heart beats you up, remember God is greater than your heart.

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In this chapterThe Big Question · Christians disagreeCan a Christian Keep Sinning? · after verse 24

Children of God

¹Behold what manner of love the Father has given to us, that we should be called children of God. And that is what we are! The reason the world does not know us is that it did not know Him. ²Beloved, we are now children of God, and what we will be has not yet been revealed. We know that when Christ appears, we will be like Him, for we will see Him as He is. ³And everyone who has this hope in Him purifies himself, just as Christ is pure.

1JN 3:1[NOTABLE]Not just called His children. That is what we are.
1JN 3:1[NOTE]TEXT. And that is what we are is in the oldest copies but missing from the KJV.
1JN 3:2[PROPHECY]It has not yet been revealed what we shall be, but we know that when He is revealed, we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is → STILL TO COME

⁴Everyone who practices sin practices lawlessness as well. Indeed, sin is lawlessness. ⁵But you know that Christ appeared to take away sins, and in Him there is no sin. ⁶No one who remains in Him keeps on sinning. No one who continues to sin has seen Him or known Him.

1JN 3:5[FULFILLS]Jesus is the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world ← JN 1:29MEDIUM

⁷Little children, let no one deceive you: The one who practices righteousness is righteous, just as Christ is righteous. ⁸The one who practices sin is of the devil, because the devil has been sinning from the very start. This is why the Son of God was revealed, to destroy the works of the devil.

1JN 3:8[DEMONIC]The Son of God appeared to destroy the works of the devil
1JN 3:8[FULFILLS]He would crush the head of Satan ← GEN 3:15

⁹Anyone born of God refuses to practice sin, because God’s seed abides in him; he cannot go on sinning, because he has been born of God. ¹⁰By this the children of God are distinguished from the children of the devil: Anyone who does not practice righteousness is not of God, nor is anyone who does not love his brother.

1JN 3:9[NOTE]THE SEED. The Greek word is sperma: God's own life planted in the believer, like a seed that grows, 1 Peter 1:23. See Can a Christian Keep Sinning?
1JN 3:10[DEMONIC]Children of the devil; Cain belonged to the evil one

Love One Another// John 13:31–35; Romans 12:9–13

¹¹This is the message you have heard from the beginning: We should love one another. ¹²Do not be like Cain, who belonged to the evil one and murdered his brother. And why did Cain slay him? Because his own deeds were evil, while those of his brother were righteous. ¹³So do not be surprised, brothers, if the world hates you.

1JN 3:12[DEMONIC]Children of the devil; Cain belonged to the evil one
1JN 3:12[ALLUDES TO]Refers to ← GEN 4:8

¹⁴We know that we have passed from death to life, because we love our brothers. The one who does not love remains in death. ¹⁵Everyone who hates his brother is a murderer, and you know that eternal life does not reside in a murderer.

¹⁶By this we know what love is: Jesus laid down His life for us, and we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers. ¹⁷If anyone with earthly possessions sees his brother in need, but withholds his compassion from him, how can the love of God abide in him?

1JN 3:16[NOTABLE]Jesus laid down His life. Real love opens its wallet and its hands.

¹⁸Little children, let us love not in word and speech, but in action and truth. ¹⁹And by this we will know that we belong to the truth, and will assure our hearts in His presence: ²⁰Even if our hearts condemn us, God is greater than our hearts, and He knows all things.

1JN 3:19[HEART]We assure our hearts before God.
1JN 3:20[HEART]Even when our heart condemns us, God is greater and knows everything.

²¹Beloved, if our hearts do not condemn us, we have confidence before God, ²²and we will receive from Him whatever we ask, because we keep His commandments and do what is pleasing in His sight. ²³And this is His commandment: that we should believe in the name of His Son, Jesus Christ, and we should love one another just as He commanded us. ²⁴Whoever keeps His commandments remains in God, and God in him. And by this we know that He remains in us: by the Spirit He has given us.

1JN 3:21[HEART]A heart that does not condemn us gives confidence.

The Big Question · Christians disagree

Can a Christian Keep Sinning?

What Did John Mean?

1 John 1:8 to 10 · 2:1 · 3:6 to 9 · 5:18 · Romans 7:15 to 25

THE PUZZLE: John says if we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, 1:8, and if anyone does sin, we have an advocate, 2:1. Then he says no one born of God keeps on sinning, he cannot go on sinning, 3:6 and 3:9. How can both be true?
THE BACKGROUND: The false teachers seem to have said two things: some claimed they had no sin at all, and others said what you do in the body does not matter. John fights both.
THE TENSE: Most scholars point to the Greek present tense in 3:6 and 3:9: it means keep on sinning as a way of life, which is how this Bible translates it. A believer can fall into sin, but does not make peace with it. Best case: it fits 1:8 to 2:1 and the whole letter.
CHRISTIAN PERFECTION: John Wesley, in A Plain Account of Christian Perfection, 1766, taught that God can fill a believer with perfect love so that he no longer sins on purpose, though he still makes mistakes. The Holiness and many Pentecostal churches grew from this. Best case: it takes 3:9 at full strength and expects real change.
REFORMED AND LUTHERAN: Luther said a believer is at the same time righteous and a sinner. Sin stays in us until death, Romans 7, but it no longer rules, Romans 6:14. Best case: it is honest about daily struggle and keeps grace central.
CATHOLIC AND ORTHODOX: There is sin that kills grace in the soul and lesser daily sin that does not, 5:16 to 17. Believers can grow in holiness by grace and the sacraments. Best case: it reads 1:9 and 5:16 to 17 together.
THE NEW NATURE: Some say John speaks of the new nature, God's seed, which cannot sin, while the old nature still can. Best case: it explains cannot in 3:9.
WHAT ALL SIDES AGREE ON: Christians still sin and must confess it, 1:9. But being born of God changes a person, and a life that happily keeps sinning is a warning sign, 3:10.

1 John 3

Children of God

Love One Another// John 13:31–35; Romans 12:9–13

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